Sunday, December 19, 2010

the gym thing. it's sort of weird.

In an effort to get stronger next season I've begun working out. At a gym. Really.

I've been in for a yoga class, a spin class and now my first time doing resistance work.And it's weird. It's weird mostly because I worked up more of a sweat in all the bike riding I did on errands and stuff today (11 miles worth) than I did in 45 minutes pushing and pulling things at the gym. Only when I got home did I learn from Sweetie (who's an old hand at resistance training) that this is how it works. Apparently, one does not build up as much of a sweat pushing and pulling. What one does is build up strength.

I also learned that, because I ride to and from the gym, I probably don't really need to do much "cardio" before I push and pull things.

But it's weird, this whole gym thing. I've never really worked out before and this will take some getting used to.

7 comments:

Gyms (or other non-biking exertion) is really helpful. Yoga classes have helped in innumerable ways, but specifically in getting my shoulder blades and chest repositioned away from the rounded "set" it was taking from just riding.

Watch it on the spin classes - mostly because of the "spin" aspect, it's easy to torque your hips or knees if the position is off.

It's probably a good idea to underdo things for a while - you are probably in pretty good shape from cycling, which tends to let you overdo things in the gym because it doesn't feel like you are doing that much...until a day or two later.

I was going to go to the spin class again this week, but my knee has been twingeing since the last one. Instead, I opted to skip the gym altogether and simply do my own "resistance work" by riding my cargo bike today. (I may also need to find a spin class for 30 minutes instead of 60, at least in the beginning. Phew!)

I admit I like the lifting thing. It's nice to know that I still have some muscle strength, even after laying off the daily wrenching for 3+ years.

The weights really pay off. I always smirked at the folks doing weights when I was a young spud. Aging bodies of both genders REALLY get a benefit from resistance training. Give it a few weeks and it will be like a superpower you didn't know you had.

I've been thinking about starting some type of off-bike training regimen. I'm contemplating going to a gym and/or getting a trainer, but I really have never gotten comfortable at gyms. I just so dis-like all the meat market, poser s**t that goes on. I probably just need to get over it and get my but in there. Thanks for the motivation!--Marcywww.ridehappycycles.com